


The Power of Love

by GeckoGirl89



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, First Kiss, Fluff, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of Past Steve/Catherine and Steve/Lynn, Mutual Pining, Serious Injuries, True Love's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 12:52:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11669493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeckoGirl89/pseuds/GeckoGirl89
Summary: This isn't just about how Danny feels. If it were Danny on that hospital bed, Steve deciding to give him a kiss would actually work. But Danny isn't sure if kissing Steve will work, because he doesn't even know if his partner thinks of him as anything but a friend.





	The Power of Love

**Author's Note:**

> Written for this prompt on comment-fic (http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/825122.html?thread=103889954#t103889954): "Hawaii Five-0, Steve McGarrett/Danny Williams, 'True love's kiss' has the power to heal and protect your loved one. Danny knows Steve is his true love, but he's unsure about Steve's feelings. With Steve in dire need of healing, what will Danny do?"
> 
> Generally set around the current timeline, but the liver thing isn't referenced since it would have gone differently in this kind of universe. I also made Danny single for this story, and I briefly explain stuff about what is going on with Steve's relationships in a way that differs slightly from canon.

Steve and Danny are all alone in the hospital room, and the whirring of machines, the beeping of the heart monitor, and Danny's footsteps are the only sounds in the quiet room.

Moments ago, the team was told that Steve had been put under a powerful mystical enchantment. So powerful, in fact, that scientific medical techniques could only do so much. The best solution, the doctor said, would be for Steve to receive 'true love's kiss,' the strongest healing magic known to humankind. With that, he would probably wake up and begin to heal from the torture the terrorists had inflicted on him. Without it, Steve might not make it through the night.

Danny had still been in a daze after hearing that Steve might die, so he was barely aware that Chin, Kono, and Lou were directing him towards Steve's hospital room. They left a few seconds after leading Danny inside, telling Danny that they would give him "some time."

It was pretty damn clear what they thought Danny should do with that time. So far, he's been circling the hospital room and darting his gaze towards Steve every five seconds, wondering what he should do.

Because it's not as simple as the others on the team think it is. This isn't just about how Danny feels. If it were Danny on that hospital bed, Steve deciding to give him a kiss would actually work. But Danny isn't sure if kissing Steve will work, because he doesn't even know if his partner thinks of him as anything but a friend. And even if he did, that's no guarantee that he's Steve's "true love." Most of the time it goes both ways, but some extremely unlucky people have a true love who can't return the sentiment. Danny has never been lucky in love, and deep down, he's always wondered if he's one of the "cursed ones," as they are called.

It's not like Danny has a ton of other options. Steve needs his true love to kiss him, and the only other plausible candidate, Catherine, is off God knows where doing God knows what for the CIA. Steve can't afford the days it would take to locate Catherine and bring her back to Hawaii. He's got hours at the most. Danny isn't sure exactly who holds that special place in Steve's heart, but he's fairly certain Lynn isn't his true love either. He broke up with her a few weeks ago without seeming particularly torn up about it. According to the lore, a person is incapable of voluntarily leaving their true love and would fight against a forced separation until their last breath.

The way Danny would fight for Steve, which is why he was shoved into this hospital room.

Danny stops in his tracks. There's really no other choice, is there? But he should at least give Steve the courtesy of talking to him first, even if he can't respond right now. Since he's under a spell, there's a chance that he can hear Danny.

Danny walks over to the hospital bed and sits down in the chair set up next to it. For the first time, he takes a good, long look at Steve.

_God, he's so pale. What if this doesn't work?_

Danny swallows heavily and forces back the frightening what-if scenarios from his mind. He clasps Steve's hand in his and bites his lip to avoid crying at how cold and limp it is. It's not exactly like a cadaver, but it's way, way too close for Danny's comfort.

"Well, babe, I don't really know where to start. If you're awake in there, then I'm sure you know things aren't looking too good for you right now, and there's only one real option for your recovery."

He pauses for a few seconds and looks over at Steve. But his face remains unresponsive and unchanged.

Danny sighs. "Look, I think it's pretty obvious why I'm the one in here right now. I'm pretty sure everyone on this island knows that I'd do anything for you, and it's not like kissing you is some kind of burden or something." Danny laughs weakly at that idea.

He squeezes Steve's hand. "I didn't plan on this. You've got to know that, right?" Danny hopes Steve knows him well enough to know that he wouldn't go around willy-nilly kissing people while they were unconscious. Even now, with all of the extraneous circumstances, Danny can't help feeling guilty for what he's about to do. Kissing Steve while he's unconscious puts him in the same category as those sick assholes they've arrested that sell Love Potion X, the magical equivalent of a date rape drug. The only difference is one of degree, and the fact that a kiss from Danny is Steve's last remaining hope.

Danny shakes his head. "This isn't really the way I had thought our first kiss would go. If this doesn't work, please forgive me, okay?"

That little jump in the heart rate monitor is the only answer Danny is going to get, so he'll just have to pretend that Steve told him that he understood what Danny had to do and was okay with it.

"Okay, then." Danny nods to himself, closes his eyes, and leans down to firmly and quickly press his lips firmly against Steve's unresponsive mouth. _That should do it._

Danny pulls back and waits for something to change. He waits. And waits. And...

"Shit." Danny covers his eyes, which are watering now, because he's going to lose Steve. The pain of that overwhelms everything else, including the fact that Steve obviously doesn't return his feelings. Steve is his best friend, and Danny might not be his true love, but he is Danny's, and Danny doesn't know how he's going to survive without him.

"God, I'm sorry. So goddamn sorry. Fuck." Danny has been able to hold back the tears since they found Steve knocked out and barely alive at the compound, but now that he has failed to save Steve's life, they're falling freely into the palms of his hands. He knows he'll need to get out of here soon and tell everyone what happened, but he doesn't know he'll manage to stand, much less walk.

A weak cough interrupts Danny's spiral of panic and despair. "Danny? Where am I? What happened?"

Danny's hands fall to his lap and he stares in shock at Steve, who is looking around the room and squinting with bewilderment at his surroundings. Steve doesn't look well, exactly. He's still very injured and obviously out of it, but he looks the way Danny has seen him so many times before, awake, alive, and on the road to recovery.

"You're in the hospital, babe." Danny reaches out to cover Steve's hand with his own. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I'm not sure. There was this blinding pain, and then everything got kind of fuzzy after that." Steve graced him with an affectionate smile. "And now you're here."

"Yeah, I'm here."

Danny was about to explain what had happened while Steve was unconscious, but before he could, the doctor appeared, alerted by the change in the monitors that came after Steve woke up. She performed a few quick tests and asked Steve how he was feeling.

"Weirdly okay," Steve replied. "I'm exhausted and sore all over, but I thought it would be a lot worse, considering what I went through."

The doctor smiled over at Danny. "You have Detective Williams to thank for that."

"I know." Steve turned his head to look at Danny again, and his expression was one of the sappiest things Danny had ever seen. Ordinarily, Danny would have attributed Steve's extra fondness to the painkillers that had been pumped into his system, but considering recent events, he could only see it as a sign of love. "I'm lucky to have him."

The doctor left, and as soon as she was gone, Steve yawned.

"You weren't kidding about being exhausted, huh?"

Steve shook his head. "Yeah. I wish I could stay up and talk to you more, but I'm really, really tired." Danny could tell that Steve was barely managing to keep his eyes open.

"It's alright, babe. You should probably get some rest." Danny would get a chance to talk to Steve later, since he was going to live through this.

Steve closed his eyes. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Can you stay here 'til I wake up again?"

Danny chuckles. "I wasn't planning on moving."

Steve shifts his head on the pillow. "Good. It's nice waking up next to you. Wish I could do that all the time." He yawns again, and the heart monitor slows down slightly as he drifts off to sleep. 

Danny grins wryly. When Steve is awake enough for a conversation, he will explain what happened just before he woke up, and he will let Steve know that he can wake up next to Danny all the time, just like he wants.

But for the moment, Steve needs to rest, so his true love waits loyally by his side just like he had promised. Danny gently runs his fingers through Steve's hair and silently thanks the good fortune that brought Steve to him in the first place and that has now allowed Steve to return to him today, safe and sound.


End file.
